Effective and assertive communication is the subject of a talk at IMPA Tech

25/3/25

How important is clear and effective communication to the success of academic projects? How can you present yourself assertively at a job interview or a thesis defense? Some of the answers to these questions were presented in a talk given by the Careers and Internships Center (NCE) on Monday (24), after the afternoon classes.

Thana Mondego, a psychologist specializing in People Management, was the group’s guest for a chat with the students of the class of 2024. The presentation covered the different perspectives of communication: effective, assertive, non-violent and non-verbal. The speaker also presented techniques for developing communication skills on a daily basis.

Before the chat even began, Eduardo Suterlande, IMPA Tech’s career and internship coordinator, played a dynamic game with the students. Without using oral resources, the undergraduates had to organize themselves in a line in ascending order according to their birthdays. The aim of the activity was to apply non-verbal communication in practice, demonstrating the power of using the body to communicate.

With this in mind, the psychologist opened the lecture by reinforcing the importance of verbal and non-verbal behavior being aligned. “Communication is the transmission of information, but above all, it’s behavior. If my tone of voice doesn’t capture your attention, I can’t convey information clearly. Our bodies speak all the time. Our gestures and physical positions, such as the direction of our feet and knees, show interpretations of our interests,” he said.

Thana also shared tips with the students to ensure that the purpose of the message is understood by all parties involved, such as using the right tone of voice and timing, controlling emotions and avoiding stressful situations, being direct and objective and valuing the other person’s time. “Effective communication is the ability to convey information clearly, objectively and in a way that is understood by the interlocutor. It is a powerful tool for inspiring, influencing and achieving goals,” he added.

For student Bruno Pereira, the lecture provoked reflections on the interlocution between scholars and lay people on a given subject. “Especially for us, who are training as mathematicians and evolving academically, it’s important to think that the other person won’t always have the same knowledge as us. Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes is essential for communicating clearly,” he said.

Student Isabelli Cristhini liked the techniques presented by Thana. “I learned how to react better when someone is giving me constructive criticism. My attitude has always been a bit passive and defensive, but I’ve learned mechanisms that we can include in our day-to-day academic life. It’s important to know how to talk in order to evolve and absorb feedback.”

At the end of the meeting, the speaker promoted a dynamic to present the benefits of assertive behavior. Using the “assertiveness board”, a sheet with hypothetical situations given to each participant, the students mapped out details of their individual behavior and identified how their attitudes can influence the expression of feelings.

The aim of the dynamic was to show the importance of taking responsibility for individual behavior and to reinforce the need to be sincere, direct and appropriate in communication. “Through this reflection, the students can improve their communication performance, creating a healthy and productive work environment with an increased relationship of trust,” said Thana.

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